


Honey

by softferal



Series: Smile when you’re sleepin’, wonder who you’re dreaming of [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Universe, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Lance (Voltron)-centric, M/M, Makeouts, POV Third Person, Pining Lance (Voltron), cuteness i love my boys, its unimportant, not actually canon tho, not too much though, oof im nervous to post this, pre s8, set in s7, shamless the both of them, theyre literally besties wow we stan love, we hear from keith briefly as well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 08:33:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16971276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softferal/pseuds/softferal
Summary: Lance’s strange fixation to Keith’s new scar might actually prove itself useful.





	Honey

**Author's Note:**

> Whew we out here writing again! I've never posted on ao3 so i'm a bit nervous but i hope if anyone actually reads this,,, that they like it lol. Um i love my boys and i had so much fun writing this. Its set in S7 i think??? and theyre on the castleship bc i honestly didnt like them getting rid of it, oh and theyre still in space. Its mostly just romantic inner monologue and kissing. k see ya on the other side.

Sometimes it was hard not to stare. If Lance thought Keith looked “grizzled” before, he really wasn’t prepared for the Scar. Of course, once he found out the reasoning behind the scar, it added a feeling of somber seriousness anytime he saw it.

All things considered though, it was mostly just… distracting. Lance didn’t know what to do with himself half the time when it was so hard to keep his eyes away from the damn thing. It really shouldn't have been such a daunting task, but Keith would be talking to him, and next thing he knew- he’d have to be correcting his eyesight back up, or away, or-

“Lance.”

Lance startles, feeling a spike of irritation flare up at his own weird, subconscious, desire to be so fixated on things that really didn’t concern him-and on people that probably didn’t appreciate being constantly stared at. He avoids meeting Keith’s eyes, suddenly feeling very self conscious.

“Yeah- uh. Yeah. I agree.” He manages to mumbled out quietly, now staring blankly at a spot off in the distance, behind Keith’s shoulder.

Lance feels his stare. He realizes belatedly that it’s probably due to the fact that his answer could have very well made no sense. He has no idea what had even been said.

“Um. I hadn’t said anything yet, I was about to ask you something about the debriefing.” Keith responds quietly, still trying to make eye contact.

Lance shifts his his gaze once again, letting out a deep breath and trying hard to not let his face turn red.

“Right. Sorry. I’ve been a little distract- uh preoccupied? With-stuff- you know.”

There was a long pause where Lance could hear the background chatter of the meeting going on around them, but nothing from Keith. Finally, slowly, Lance looks right at him, and he almost regrets it. There was a reason that Lance was avoiding looking right at him, and it was because, well, Keith was a lot. His stare alone held some kind of influence over Lance. And he couldn't even find it in him to dislike that.

Keith tilts his head slightly, to the left, and Lance is suddenly very overwhelmed at how cute- how absolutely adorable- he thinks it is, but he doesn’t have much time to dwell on it before Keith starts talking again, this time noting how low his voice is. 

“Well I guess, things have been stressful. But you should really pay attention, you’re going to miss something important and hurt yourself, or hurt someone else.” Keith speaks very seriously, very much switching into Team Leader for a moment, and Lance almost wants to feel offended.

He thinks back to the beginning of their time in space, when a comment like that would have sent him into a petty spiral, and surely a fight, with his one and only rival. He wants to laugh at the memory. 

Instead, he smiles very slightly, knowing keith well enough to read inbetween the lines and see the comment for what it really was, showing concern.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’d still outperform you in battle though.” He teases, feeling proud for finally forming a proper response.

Keith looks pleased, his eyes folding with amusement. “Really cargo pilot? I’m not sure I could agree.”

The jab is so unexpected Lance feels a smile break out across his face, a laugh bubbling up in his throat too, “Low blow Red.”

There’s a cough at the head of the table, obviously one to call attention, “Keith, Lance, unless your conversation is about which plants are poisonous to consume on the next planet we’re visiting, please wait until after to converse.” 

It occurs to Lance that their little conversation, in the middle of this meeting, was probably a bit untimely, and makes sure to nod in acknowledgement to the princess’s chide.

Lance manages to keep his eyes off of keith for the most part, for the remainder of the meeting. However he can’t help but notice the attention now seems to be on him. Sure enough, right as Hunk is finishing the debriefing, he chances a glance at Keith once again, only to find him already looking. He doesn’t want to feel pleased about it.

He is.

\--

What happened at the meeting was fairly inconsequential, and Lance knew better than to dwell on his interactions with the team leader. He knew deep down that Keith’s time away had molded him into an even better, more secure version of himself, and though Lance was so happy for him, sometimes it was hard not to linger on the way Keith always manages to pull him in. He was mesmerizing doing nothing at all. He was weak for the silent security Keith seemed to radiate these days, alright?

This wasn’t always bad, however Lance wasn’t convinced it was very “productive”. 

In preparation for the mission, there was a team sparring session. The planet they were landing on, Rhed 32, was known for harboring Galra, and even though the paladins considered themselves fairly competent at this point, they all knew training time was invaluable. Today, they were sparring; although sparring may not be the right word for it, since they were allowed to use their different ranged weapons in practice, and also because right now, all that was happening was Lance getting his ass handed to him.

So, back to why Lances productivity was being jeopardized. As much as he hates to admit it, Keith was the best at close range combat, he never went easy on his opponent, and it looks like he has only sharpened his reflexes with a sword.

As a matter of fact, Lance has half a mind to believe he was being hunted down right now. Barley avoiding a particularly rough kick towards his side, Lance rolls across the floor, heaving huge breaths as he struggles to get enough oxygen to his lungs. He can feel the sweat literally roll off of him in drops, and sends a glare toward Keith who is already running back toward him in large bounds.

“Keith.. do you think you could-” He cuts himself off when he has to get back up to escape from the other, barely missing the blade being swung through the air.

Keith doesn’t seem to register the half request at all, continuing his pursuit, as energetic as ever, however Lances prayers don’t go unanswered, and he hears Shiro call out, “Yeah actually, maybe you guys should take five.” 

He silently thanks him, hoping for the burning in his lungs to stop. 

The moment he slows his dash across the training room floor though, he feels Keith grabbing his wrist, spinning him around and tripping him back onto the floor with a resounding oof.

Lance lands on his back, seeing stars and shortly after, Keith’s eyes directly above his about a foot or so away from his face. It takes roughly 2 seconds to read the look on his face.

Keith’s eyes have a strange urgency in them, although he's currently the one winning, not to mention they're only training. His blade rests on the left underside of Lance's jaw. If he were to so much as swallow, he’d be able to feel it press into his skin even more.

“Don’t ever turn your back on the enemy Lance. You will hurt yourself.” Keith states this like a warning, while Lance inexplicably feels his face growing hot, and not just from the exhaustion. 

Not bothering to linger any longer he pushes himself back into a standing position, already sliding his knife into the casing. Lance swallows down the feeling in his chest, deciding to take another moment to wallow on the floor.

Keith never wasted time saying things he didn’t mean, he hardly wasted time saying things, so why had he mentioned getting hurt twice in the past 24 hours, and to none other than Lance himself? Lance suddenly feels embarrassed. Did Keith find him that incapable of taking care of himself? Of being a good part of the team?

No. They were partners now. He was his right hand man, and despite everything Lance knew Keith never wanted to put anyone down. But that would mean something else was going, but well, Lance felt a bit egotistical to assume he was important enough for that even to be the case. 

He should really just focus on preparing for the mission.

\--

That night-cycle, Lance found himself helping Hunk in the kitchen, apparently he was trying something new for dinner that night. Something about bread-flavored goo? (“Lance, bread is the foundation of most good meals.”) Pidge was sitting at the table typing away at a new program she’d been working on for the lions, and they were currently in a comfortable silence.

Lance had just turned around to grab something from the fridge when he catches sight of Keith and Krolia. They weren't talking, but upon Keith seeing Lance standing there, he decides on a detour to the kitchen. Hardly turning to give his mom a glance, it seems he manages to convey the message. Lance simultaneously feels a happiness for him while missing the familiarity of having his own mother around.

“Hey. I wanted to talk to you.” Keith says a second later, assurity in every movement of his body, the tone of his voice. He seemed to have a lot of self assurance these days.

Lance’s eyes start darting around, trying to play off what Keith wanting to speak to him, again, does. He ends up just looking straight ahead, and again he sees the thin tip of the scar resting on Keiths cheekbone. He suddenly aches for Keith, and everything that he’s been through, everything they’ve all been through.

“I just wanted to apologize for going so hard on you in the training room earlier, Krolia showed me some new tricks. Maybe I got show-y” He says quietly, as if wanting their conversation to go unheard by the others. Why is Lance so flustered by this?

He turns his head slightly and sees that neither pidge nor hunk seem all that interested in the conversation anyway, and tries not to sound stupid when he finally speaks up, “Oh, that? Pfft that was pure luck Red. You just caught me on an off day.” He plays off the seriousness of Keiths admission, entirely unsure of how the hell he was suppose to act right now.

Does he say thank you? Does he say nothing? Why was he so awkward around one of his closest friends?

Keith’s mouth twitches up into a half smirk, the tip of his k9 tooth popping into view, “You know it’s okay not to be better than me at everything? You’re the sharpshooter.”

Lance stares at the scar on his face for a second, once again at a loss of how to interact with him. "Y-yeah don't think you got off so easy though. I've got an altean broadsword now. Guess I’ve got the best of both.”

Keith’s face returns to its usual serious disposition, and he seems to mull this over, “Yeah? and you still haven't invited me to spar?”

“Oh, uh I mean I haven't gotten to practice much these days, but if you want-” Why doesn't he stop talking? Why did he suggest that at all? He barely knows how to hold his own against Keith, and now he thinks he can go around bragging to him about his stupid fancy sword?

Keith rolls his eyes, smiling slightly again, “I’m not going easy on you, so you better be feeling better later, your footwork needs some adjusting.”

Lance lets out a strange sounding hum, honestly feeling overwhelmed, because what the hell? Since when does keith tease so much?  
With that, lance sees him grab a purple fruit from the space equivalent refrigerator, and head back off down the hall. Okay.

He turns around and plops himself into the chair besides Pidge. “Hey, has Keith seemed a little more friendly or like- outgoing to you guys? I think. I think it suits him.”

“Keith is the same, he just wants your attention, although it’s not like he doesn't already have it.” Pidge seems to giggle at the end of her thought, the typing of her keyboard never ceasing.

“Oh yeah- wait- Pidge.” Lance whines out her name, burying his face in his hands to avoid the oncoming blatant show of embarrassment. He can’t help but start thinking over every single interaction the two of them have recently had. Is he being that obvious? What is there to be obvious about? They’re best friends, of course they want each other's attention.

“It’s nothing. You guys just really like having secret conversations all the time, sparring alone and pairing up on mission, it’s cute, right Hunk?”

He hums from the otherside of the room. “You do enjoy each other's company.”

Lance is too busy thinking to even respond to them. Um okay, yeah, he likes to spend time with Keith, and not that he dwells on it but, Keith likes spending time with him. Lance actually starts to panic at his spiraling thoughts, but at further inspection of his friends’ faces he realizes they don’t seem very serious about what they’re saying, they’re not up to any hidden agenda, for now. 

But still, what about… the staring. Yeah maybe that was a little strange but, it was the stupid scar that kept calling attention, he just had, like, feelings about it.

“I’m just happy he’s back. I missed him a lot, I know you did too, don’t act like you haven't been doing the same.” Lance mumbles at last, suddenly pouty he’s been called out.

Hunk sets down a plate of the new goo in front of lance, patting his shoulder “Yeah. We all missed him, heck I still do.” He breaks off, taking his tray out of the oven, “But you know what we don’t have to miss, bread goo!”

The goo is super good; he saves some for Keith; he keeps pouting.

\--

Keith was actually proving to be a great teacher. He was for the most part, patient, level headed, and knew how to explain almost any tactic or maneuver. Lance just wishes he would talk more, because when he wasn't talking, he was well, a bit tough on the muscles.

“On your feet Lance. C’mon.”

Lance almost tells him where to shove it, that is until he remembers how he can hardly move an aching muscle. “I’m trying.”

“Well try harder.”

Lance does, spinning back around while trying remembering the sneaky move keith pulled on him earlier, and makes sure to widen his stance. This is good progress, and he's just happy that he’s managed to stay on two feet for longer than 3 minutes. 

Training goes on, and try as he might he can’t seem to keep his damn eyes off of Keith’s scar. He knows it’s a dumb decision, really he does. But he is only human, and training gets boring after a while, maybe he let himself zone out. 

He keeps imagining what kind of opinion Keith has about it, I mean, he never tried to cover it up... He thinks about running his hand over the mark, just once, and how or if Keith would ever let something like that play out. It felt like such a fantasy but somehow he couldn’t stop.

“Lance!” Keith sounded thoroughly upset. More specifically he sounded mad.

“Shit-” it was all he time to stutter, before getting a good hit in the side with Keith’s sword. Thankfully, it was set to a mode that didn’t actually cut through his poor side, however the dull jab was more than enough to knock the wind out of him, and probably leave a nice bruise behind.

“Damn it- shit! I’m sorry!” Lance heard him call out immediately, and as much as he wanted to play off the accidental hit, he ended up on his knees a moment later, trying not to make any sounds.

“Keith, I’m fine. Don’t be dramatic.” He sounded winded though, and speaking through his teeth didn’t help his case either.

There was no response, just the sudden tug of his head upward, where Keith was kneeling, impatience written across his face. He obviously needed to asses the situation for himself. Lance couldn’t help but roll his eyes.  
“You were distracted, and now you’re hurt.” Keith was holding onto lance’s side, staring at this suit as-if the damage was going to reverse at the mere stare he was providing.

Lance’s irritation turned to surprise and then burning hot embarrassment in under 5 seconds. Keith saw him staring. Of course he did.

“And I didnt even.. I was just- I’m sorry Lance, this is my fault.” Lance turned his head up sharply at this, he did not want to hear that.

“So you saw my blatant staring and not only did you not call me out, you want to blame yourself? For my inability? I don’t think so, um no, nah.” Lance pushed himself up straighter with a wince, making sure to look Keith dead on.

“How did you even come to such a dumb conclusion?” he asked.

Keith seemed to be surprised now, but only pushed himself back into Lance’s space, “Let me see that side Lance.”

Excuse me! If there was one thing Lance did not like, it was being ignored.

“You’re not seeing squat until you chill out and admit I had a good point. Red.” Keith may not be the red paladin anymore, but Lance was fond of the nickname.

“Lance.” That tone again. He was mad then. At Lance? He should be, lance has been a bit annoying lately.

“Hey. I’m sorry Keith, I know I should have been paying attention-”

“No. You don’t understand-” Keith was frantically pulling the shirt up now, still not making sense with his words.

“I knew you were looking, and I, I liked the attention. It got you hurt, and after all my talk about you needing to protect yourself.”

Lance huffed out a breath, but before he can respond Keith manages to lift the skin tight under-armor in time to reveal a large red mark. Definitely gonna bruise then. Ouchie.

“What a ‘team leader’.”

Was Keith just gonna ignore what he said before? “Hang on- so-what?”

They were both on their knees now, facing one another, Keith’s hands hovering over the hit spot. “Cut it out! Keith I’m tickl- AH.” He burst out into a loud laugh, which only hurt his side more, and tried to push away for the 3rd time. “You worry more than Shiro… jeez.”

Keith kept fighting to stay put though, and one wrong shove left Lance finally close enough to run his fingers over the damn cause of all of this nonsense. 

Maybe he actually hit his head, and maybe lost all common sense too, because he felt like Keith was happy with their position, he seemed happy to be there with Lance, and before he knew any better, his hand was reaching out, out, before landing right on Keith’s jaw. 

“Ah.” As soon as the realization of what he was doing hit him, he tensed up, his eyes moved back to meet Keith’s. Okay, so much for subtlety. So much for keeping his urges under control.

What he wasn’t ready for though, was for Keith to hardly react. Move his head to the side where Lance’s hand was, and just, stare. Lance felt his face burn again. It was hardly a surprise. Keith had this way about him… an intensity that was so warm and affectionate, Lance could barely remember where he was, or why it mattered. Keith was so special, why didn’t he realize this more?

He felt all of the affection he had for him bubble up in his chest, it was burning him. You're special, because you mean everything to me red. I can’t lose you. It was simple, and it was true.

Lance moved his thumb across the bottom of the mark, admiring the way Keith’s mouth opened slightly at the action, and had to control yet another urge. He just wanted to tell Keith everything. He’d say anything Keith wanted to hear, if it made him happy.

But the idea also brought a lot of anxiety, because he was Lance, and although they were great friends, why would Keith ever want anything like that? He deserved stars and moons and planets.

“Lance.” Keith says his name in a whisper, starting with more conviction than he ends with, and the simple action is enough to push Lance over the edge of restraint. 

He ignores the now-throbbing pain in his side to lean forward, trying his hardest to not lose his nerve, and ends up placing his other hand on the empty side of Keith's face. It’s warms under his palm, and it spurs him forward, right where he’s wanted to be for a while now. His fingers move upward into keith's hair, and he feels himself smile at the now clear view of the face in front of him. Being this close is intoxicating almost, it's better than Lance dared hope for.

Keith may seem different, but he’s still the same as ever, and his patience was never that great. He decides that although he loves Lance’s attention on him, he just really really, wants to kiss that stupidly fond expression.

He pushes off of the floor, careful of Lance’s side, and makes sure to be the one who starts that kiss, because well, he loves being #1. Competition was their thing after-all.

Lance melts under him from the first second their lips touch, and Keith has a hard time not getting carried away with these sudden turn of events. It’s so good, it’s so them. Lance seems to move with him effortlessly, and everytime he asks for more, or he pushes forward, lance seems happy to comply. Keith loves him. His affections are shameless and he needs Lance to know. 

His hands end up under Lance’s shirt, and he’s mindful of keeping them on his back. He feels Lance’s own hands in his hair, and he might be embarrassed to admit the sound he makes when he decides to start tugging on the strands. He doesn’t know whether or not to feel scandalized by how that only gives Lance a new enthusiasm. 

He pushes back a moment later, just to finally catch up on breathing, when he feels Lance following the path of his mouth, before trailing down to his neck. He felt another wave of affection well up, how is he so cute?

Lance was really enjoying himself, he had to admit. Was it possible for someone to taste like honey, because Keith most certainly did. And even after training? Maybe he was just smitten, he had been for a while.

He smiles against the curve of Keiths neck, opening his mouth and biting down, all of the panting Keith was doing may had given him a sense of over confidence.

“Lance- what are you doing?” Keith’s voice was low as ever, and Lance lifted his head up to meet his gaze, melting again at the flushed cheeks and red lips. 

“Taste testing.” he looked up through his lashes, biting down lightly on his own lip.

Keith raised a hand to his mouth, which was infinitely criminal. Looking was half the fun.

“Okay, So you think this is funny.” His face was red as could be, and Lance brought his hand up to brush at his cheek once again.

“You’re not a joke to me Red. I take you very seriously.” it was true, even though it was only half of what he wanted to say.

Keith nodded, as if gaining his composure and brings his hand to meet Lance’s, the look was back and stronger than ever. It was probably too late to act shy now.

“I might as well tell you now, but you're a sight to behold Lance. I’m sorry I let my earlier selfishness get you hurt. I promise it won’t happen again.”

Lance hates to say this but, why did he feel disappointed at that? He had been having fun dancing around Keith and whatever it was they had. Would things stay professional? Is that what Keith meant?

Apparently the disappointment bleed onto his face, because Keith seems to backtrack a moment later. “It’s dangerous for me to let myself get distracted by you while we’re working to protect the universe, but that won’t stop me from counting down the minutes until I get to see you again.”

There it was. Lance felt his throat tighten at how overwhelming all of these feelings suddenly were. He really really wants to protect this.

“You’re cheesy. I like that.”

He wanted to kiss him again. He knew the feeling wouldn’t go away either until he got what he wanted. Damn Kogane.

Keith finally moved away, his face still colored pink, but his eyes filled with something sure and confident. Lance wanted him close again, although he was happy to be able to admire him so openly.

“Sorry, again.” Keith says completely in a soft and private way Lance never noted before.

“I’d let you beat me up hourly if it meant this every time.” Lance tries to sound as casual and easy-going as possible, but he knew the truth. Lance would take a bullet for another make out like that.

Keith out right laughs at the statement, and Lance lays his head on his knee to watch. What a cute person. How could he have denied for a minute that he didn't want this?

\--

“Maybe we should get you some ice for that side.” Hunk comments, looking at it up close.

Lance swats his friend away, trying to push his shirt down, “Stop it Hunk, I just ran into Keith’s dumb sword earlier. He says the bread goo was great by the way.”

“Lance? Have you still not put ice on that?”

Lance grimaces, already knowing what he was in store for. “Actually Red, I haven't gotten around to it, but I will hopefully very soon. Um. Hunk was just getting me some ice. Right Hunk? Right?”

Hunk crosses his arms, entirely suspicious of why Lance suddenly wants the ice he had refused 30 seconds before, “I don't recall.”

Lance turns around just in time to see Keith send off kosmo for an ice pack. He’s wearing nothing but his pants and a shirt around his neck, probably just finishing from after workout showering.

By the time he makes it to Lance Kosmo is back with the pack in his mouth, tail wagging happily. “Lance I wasn't asking when I told you to take care of this.”

Lance cross his own arms now, shrugging petulantly, “Well I think I’ll survive. Besides, what are you gonna do if I don’t comply hotshot?”

“I have a few ideas.”

Hunk was frantically looking between the two of them, trying to decide if what he was seeing was real or not. Was it possible, had they finally worked through all, that?

“You sure do talk a lot for someone who supposedly is short tempered.”

“Lance.”

“Just saying. Maybe you’ve lost the bad boy persona after all.”

Lance knew very well what he was doing. He knew Keith knew, and he loved that Keith entertained him, it was sweet really. He loved when Keith gave into their play fights, and now he got to be obvious about wanting more.

He may have gotten carried away in front of Hunk though. “‘Kay guys as much as I love you both, I’ll be in the media room if you need me. Which I sincerely doubt. Ice your bruise. Bye!”

The moment Hunk hightailed it out of there was when Keith gave in and kissed Lance. It was just as sweet as the first time, if not a little more rough.

“You're a brat Lance.”

Lance smiled “You didn't have a problem with it for the past year and a half-” He broke off into a peal of laughter at Keith’s expression.

Maybe that scar was good for productivity afterall.

**Author's Note:**

> So ya there it is. Im tempted to write more. its self indulgent asf so i probably will. 
> 
> Thank you so much for stopping by, please let me know what you think.. if you think anything of it??  
> bye for now!


End file.
